GoDiego

I'm feeling much more confident now that this is normal for a hyperactive Zon. I must admit I could not see how it could be his diet as I really monitor what he eats to make sure he gets everything he needs. I think if the rest of his feathers looked dull I would be more worried. Today I watched him playing and he really does put his tail feathers through their paces, like Jayd said at one point he was sat on them. Trying to get a photo of his behind is impossible I will try again but he was just not going to let me post his behind on the forum today! LOL

Thanks Jayd, I wondered if it was just down to this and very happy that Diego is not the only one. And thanks everyone for your warm welcome backs, I missed visiting the forum and was itching to drop back in

Welcome to the forum and what a beauty Morgan is, I'm loving his beautiful pink beak! With his feeding habits I went though a similar thing with Diego where he would only eat apple and melon but with the help from everyone here on this thread http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?190531-Can-anyone-help-me-to-understand-what-Diego-is-trying-to-say-to-me Diego now eats everything and anything! The only issue I have now with him is that he does not eat when he is outside of his cage as he is far too busy exploring to eat, so I just pop him back in his cage for his meals. Once inside and not distracted he will tuck into pretty much any veggies that I give him, apart from Spinach. Be prepared for a lot of fun and laughter with having a Zon in the house, there is something magical about their cheeky, strong minded stubbornness and forever wanting to entertain you personalities that is addictive

What a house proud Cricket! (any chance he can have a word with Diego about how it's done?)

I give him a good spray every other day and although it does improve the look of them there are some where they have been slightly damaged. I will try and get a photo of them if he shows willing, although I have a feeling he will never let me get a photo of his behind as he will be wondering why I don't want one of his beautiful face! LOL This is reassuring that it may just be an over zealous Amazon thing!

Yeah he plays very rough and does not stop until bedtime. He is out of the cage for most of the day but has to go back in when I do the school runs or taking the boys out and about. When he is in the cage he never sits still on his perch and all you can hear is crash, bang, crash, bang and then him laughing or saying clever boy! I too am hoping it is just down to his playing antics, or though he could be due for a molt. Does anyone know at what age most Amazons have their first molt?

Just to give you all an update on how he is doing. He's doing really well and he's been standing on the pinned leg & eating well. The wing is still taped close to his body and will be be for a total of 6wks more. Hopefully my cousin will be able to mail me over some more pictures of him.

Diego's party trick so I cannot get him is to fly to my head, when I reach up for him he will fly up then back down on my head again. He knows I cannot see what is happening up there and he only ever does this when he knows it's coming up to bedtime or we say the word cage! Update on my arms are that they now look completely normal without a scratch on them! The concrete perch has worked a treat.

Hi everyone, sorry I have not visited in a while but the boys went back to school which means that I've also got to get my head down and do some work, plus our internet has been playing up but this has now been fixed. Diego is doing really well and at the moment we are inseparable. I work from home so he comes with me into the office, he still refuses to make the coffee and spends the whole day chatting and distracting me rather than getting any work done LOL. All he wants all day are kisses and cuddles, which I must admit I am loving, especially when he tucks his head into my neck and coos and grinds his beak. The only thing that I am concerned about is his tail feathers. Over the last few weeks I have noticed they have become really scruffy and tatty looking. I've had a look on the internet and have seen that this can be due to a vitamin deficiency? However, Diego has a really good diet full of everything he needs so am unsure about this. Can this point to any other medical condition I should be aware of? The only other thing I can think of is that when he is playing in his cage his feathers are constantly scraping along the bars as he spends most of his time climbing about and hanging upside down. All his other feathers look beautiful, apart from the tail ones?

Diego is now nearly 8 months and his flying has really improved over the last month. He even impressed me the other day when he flew to me decided against it, hovered then flew back to his perch again. A month ago, he would never have hovered but kept going until he found a good resting spot. He still prefers to be carried around or climbs the furniture to get to places but he is definitely gaining much more confidence with his flying abilities.

Hahaha, this is so true!

Oh my goodness this video gave me goose pimples! I think not only because the Macaw was so beautiful in flight but also the bond you could see between him and his daddy, this was really special!

Is your cage a front opening one? If it is then, try sitting in front of it with the door open. Rest your arm on the the bottom of the cage door and just talk to him. This way you have part of you in his cage area but you are showing him that your not going to make a move on him. After a while he may come over to investigate your elbow or arm, when he starts doing this, change it to having your hand resting on the bottom of the cage door. Again this is showing him that even when you are in his space you are not going to force yourself onto him, letting him make his mind up whether to come to you or not. This is great progress and he obviously does not have a really big problem with you otherwise he would in no way want to do this. Like Azzie says when a parrot grooms, it shows that they are relaxed with a situation. Plus to ignore the treats and just want to sit on your lap means that being close to you is much better than any treats you can offer. Keep doing what you are doing as each update you post is showing that you are both developing a trust of each other and it's great to hear your progress.

I certainly will. Actually I tend to wash my hands before touching him without thinking. Mainly because i'm normally cleaning something in the house and so wash the chemicals of my hands, also I smoke so I wash my hands after a ciggy.

Diego has always liked his showers but the breeder used to spritz him as well before we had him so he has got used to it from an early age. He does not like baths though, although I think this is more that he just does not know what to do with them?

Hehe, I've said it before, I love wet Zons! They just seemed to get soaked to the bones and look like a drowned rat afterwards! LOL Here is Diego after a shower, he has a shower every other morning just as I start work. I love sitting at my desk working with him on his perch or my laptop in front of me grinding his beak and dosing after a good soak!

I'm loving the photos, each one looks so bright and colourful! Diego does the same thing with his wings when he is having a shower, he loves getting the water right in under his wings. Afterwards he looks soaked to the bones LOL

I love bath and shower time photos! Have you tried giving Jaffa a shower yet? You have a beautiful family and your little girl is stunning! I love her great big blue eyes, a real sweety.

More than you know! Her job is not just work to her but a way of life, I have never known anyone so passionate about animals. She's a very special person who loves life and loves sharing it with all creatures great and small. Just such a shame she lives so far away from me, but I always look forward to seeing her when we visit Florida.

I just had to post this thread to show how proud I am of my cousin in Florida. She is a vet and the work she does to save and rehabilitate domestic, exotic and wild animals is amazing. She is totally dedicated to her work, to the point that her house is always full of new and wonderful animals she is fostering or rehabilitating. Yesterday she was involved in performing amazing surgery on a Coopers Hawk, when the Hawk was bought in they soon discovered that it had a broken (wing) humerus, and broken leg (femur). The poor thing had been hit by a semi truck doing 60mph. In shock and a bad way they rushed him into surgery which my cousin documented. He's going under anesthesia Prepped for surgery The full extent of his injuries A small pin was placed into both bones to stabilize them Surgery is finished and he is ready to wake up He's off the anesthesia & in my cousins hand leaving the surgery room At this point my cousin was on tender hooks waiting for him to come around. They are so difficult to monitor under anesthesia, but thankfully he slowly started to open his eyes. He successfully comes around, although he was not too happy! He's doing fine at the moment she is just hoping he has no internal damage but he's doing well so far, his color & respiration all good, he's on a good birdy morphine & antibiotics =) Unfortunately they are unsure if he'll ever be able to be realeased but they are keeping their fingers crossed. It's gonna be atleast 6-8wks before he may fly or use his leg again, so a slow recovery process has now begun. I will keep you all updated on his progress as my Cousin lets me know.

Great news that there is some progress with Neptune. Have you tried just sitting either at the table or on the floor reading a book or magazine out loud with a few treats near to you? This way your acting really indifferent to him coming over or not, they can sense our body language so by you calmly reading he may pick up that your not there for just him and so curiosity hopefully will get the better of him. When or if he decides to come over to have a closer look at you or the treats, just lower the book and say "hi there, help yourself to a treat" then carry on reading. This way he knows that even when he comes near to you, you are still not going to ask anything from him. Like Judy says think in terms of small steps, remember you will never get to the top of a mountain in one leap.

What a cutie pie!

I did not know this, is there a way of preventing it from happening?

Are his claws sharp? Noticed the nick on your thumb ouch! He's beautiful, his feathers are so Glossy which his beak look such a vivid orange.